Ideas are stirring at The Six Week Startup Workshop

During the second session of The Six Week Startup, attendees evaluated customer input and discussed future steps. ?php the_post_thumbnail_caption(); ?>

Turning an idea into an enterprise takes time, focus, direction and determination. At The Six Week Startup Workshop, the Technology Business Development Center (TBDC) works with aspiring entrepreneurs to focus their venture idea and take steps to get them closer to realizing their dream.

On Jan. 23, two groups gathered with their ideas and plans at the Rawle Enterprise Center for the second session of the program. The Dawg Track idea hopes to bring a fresh spin on entertainment to Ruston, while the team behind Nvestrs hopes to develop an investment app that appeals to uncommon markets. Both groups worked on strategies for further defining their respective business models.

Budding businesses need to establish a plan for moving forward. The importance of starting off with a cohesive idea pitch was emphasized. Qualities of an effective pitch include how a product helps offer a solution to a problem and why it is a better solution, along with a question for the intended audience—whether it be for feedback or funding.

In the beginning stages of an enterprise, the establishment of initial goals, both ultimate and short term, is a key step. Groups shared and discussed their respective goals during the meeting.

In addition to setting goals, gaining customer feedback and understanding the place of a product in a particular market are valuable to prospective entrepreneurs. Customer response can be measured by surveys, but the questions included must be carefully considered.

“What’s hard to do is to ask questions to get the answers you may not want to hear—not just what you want to hear,” Kathy Wyatt, director of the TBDC at Tech, said in regards to crafting advantageous survey questions.

After determining market needs and interest, generation of a product that considers customer feedback based on the original idea can be developed for testing.

Check back in for further installments on the progress of The Six Week Startup and what topics the groups are working on next!